Method of reducing and uniformly distributing compressive forces on an automobile seat

ABSTRACT

There is provided a seat cover for accommodating a child safety chair upon a seat. The seat cover comprises a lower protective member which is disposable upon a seating portion of the seat. This lower member can accommodate the child safety chair when positioned in a rearward-facing direction to prevent it from permanently compressing the seating portion. The seat cover further comprises an upper protective member that is disposable against a seat-back portion of the seat. This upper member is selectively attachable with and detachable from the lower member. By doing so, the upper member can further prevent the chair from permanently compressing the seat-back portion when it is repositioned in a forward-facing direction and placed in contact therewith.

PRIORITY INFORMATION

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/291,431, filed Dec. 1, 2005, which is a continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/818,759, filed Apr. 6, 2004, now abandoned,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/136,507,filed May 1, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,546, the entire contents ofthese applications being hereby incorporated by reference herein.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

(Not Applicable)

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

(Not Applicable)

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to seat covers, and moreparticularly to an improved, two-stage seat cover which transitions froma one-piece system for accommodating a rear-facing child safety chair toa two-piece system for accommodating a forward-facing one to prevent aseat from being soiled and permanently compressed thereby.

Child safety chairs have been marketed throughout the world for manyyears. It is now mandatory within the United States for parents toemploy child safety chairs when traveling in vehicles so that theirchildren are safe in case an unfortunate event such as a car accidentshould occur.

Child safety chairs on seats are typically positioned in two directionsdepending upon the age and/or weight of the child using it. The safetychair is typically placed to face toward the vehicle's rear when it isused upon a small infant generally up to six months of age. As theinfant matures in age and weight (i.e., six months up to eight years oreighty pounds in weight), the child safety chair is usually turnedaround so that it faces toward the front of the vehicle.

Existing safety restraints such as lap and shoulder belts are typicallyutilized to harness the child safety chairs to the vehicular seats.However, a significant problem exists in that the weight of these chairsare continuously applied upon the vehicular seats, thereby often causingpermanent compression damages thereto. The degree of permanentcompression damage can drastically increase given the fact that theweight of infant or child has to be accounted for in addition to thesafety chair's weight. Most parents have found such damage to be simplyunacceptable as they permanently deforms the seats of their vehicles.

Further marring to the vehicular seats can occur when infants orchildren using the child safety chairs inadvertently soil the seats, forexample, by diaper leaks on accidental spilling of their drinks and/orfood.

To alleviate these problems, many parents resort to using seat coveringssuch as plastic sheets, rubber mats and foam padded blankets between thevehicular seats and the child safety chairs. Though these seat coveringsgenerally achieve their primary objective of protecting vehicular seats,they possess certain deficiencies which detract for their overallutility.

Perhaps the greatest deficiency of such coverings is their inability toprotect the entirety of the vehicular seats. Specifically, plasticsheets, rubber mats and padded blankets are essentially tailored tocover only the seating portions of the vehicular seats and may be usefulwhen accommodating a rearward-facing safety chair as it distributesweight solely on the seating portion of the vehicular seat. However,when the chair is repositioned to be forward-facing, these coveringstypically cannot prevent the chair from further contacting the exposedseat-back portion of the vehicular seat thereby inevitably dispersingits weight thereto. Although multiple layers of plastic sheets, rubbermats or padded blankets may theoretically be spread over the seats, sucharrangement will be aesthetically unpleasing, not to mention beingawkward and difficult to maintain as they are not designed for such use.

In view of the above-described shortcomings of conventional vehicularseat coverings, there exists a need in the art for a vehicular seatcover that can optimally accommodate both rearward and forward facingchild safety chairs, the directions of which are critical at variousstages of a child's growth. More specifically, there exists a need for avehicular seat cover which can prevent vehicular seats from becomingsoiled and permanently compressed irrespective of the orientations thatthe child safety chairs take.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention specifically addresses and alleviates theabove-referenced deficiencies associated with the use of the seatcoverings of the prior art. More particularly, the present invention isan improved, two-stage seat cover which may easily alternate betweenone-piece and two-piece configurations so as to accommodate both rearand forward facing child safety chairs. As will be demonstrated below,the present seat cover's adaptability to transition between suchconfigurations allows an infant and/or child to be safely carried withina vehicle, while preventing the vehicular seats from being damaged byaccidental soiling or permanent compressions caused by theweight-bearing child safety chairs.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention thereis provided a two-stage seat cover for preventing a vehicular seat frombeing soiled or permanently deformed by a child safety chair whichcontinuously applies its weight thereupon. The seat cover of the presentinvention comprises a lower rigid/semi-rigid protective member which isdisposable upon a seating portion of the vehicular seat. The lowerprotective member is specifically designed for accommodating arearward-facing safety chair as it is solely the chair's base sectionthat contacts and thus applies weight to the seat at the seatingportion. By using the lower protective member between the safety chairand the seating portion, the weight of the chair is distributed over theentire surface area of the protective member to thereby reduce any forcegenerated by the weight from deforming the seating portion. Hence, theseating portion is prevented from suffering any permanent compressiondeformation.

The lower protective member additionally includes a lower peripheraledge which forms a ridge-like configuration substantially therearound.This ridge may be formed by shaping the lower peripheral edge in thatconfiguration, or alternatively, by selectively extending an elongatestrip around the lower peripheral edge. If the latter step is taken, thestrip should be fabricated from a rigid or semi-rigid material (e.g.,rubber) so that a configuration of a ridge is maintained at all times.By providing the ridge, any spills such as spilled drinks or diaperleaks originating from the child safety chair are maintained within theridge and on the top surface of the protective member to prevent themfrom contacting and soiling any part of the seat and/or vehicularinteriors.

Optionally, at least one pocket may be provided on the lower forwardedge part of the lower protective member. Such pocket(s) may be any typewhich can adequately hold various items (e.g., baby bottles, toys, etc.)therein such as a mesh pocket, for example. The pocket may be attachedto the lower forward edge by multiple means such as hook-and-loop strips(commonly called the Velcro) or by simply using permanent fasteners.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the seat coveralso features an upper protective member which is selectively attachableto the lower protective member and is disposable against a seat-backportion of the vehicular seat. The upper protective member isspecifically designed to be used in combination with the lowerprotective member for accommodating a forward-facing safety chair as itfurther applies its weight to the seat-back portion of the seat inaddition to the seating portion. By providing the upper protectivemember when desired, the force generated by the weight of theforward-facing chair may similarly be more evenly distributed thereby soas to replace localized compression forces on the seat-back portion ofthe vehicle seat. Thus, the seat-back portion, as well as the seatingportion, can be protected from becoming permanently deformed by thecontinuous weight imposed by the child safety chair.

The upper and lower protective members may be releasibly attached toeach other through one of many known conventional methods. One of suchpreferred methods is employing the hook-and-loop fastening (commonlycalled Velcro). More specifically, a hook strip can be formed adjacentthe upper bottom edge of the upper protective member, whereas a loopstrip can be formed adjacent the lower rear edge of the lower protectivemember. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that analternate arrangement may also be possible where the hook strip isdefined adjacent the lower rear edge and the loop strip is definedadjacent the upper bottom edge. By utilizing this hook-and-looparrangement, the upper protective member can easily and conveniently beattachable and detachable with respect to the lower protective member.

In operation, the present two-stage seat cover is used according to achild's growth progression for the purpose of accommodating a childsafety chair upon a vehicular seat. As mentioned above, a parenttypically utilizes the safety chair in a rearward-facing direction whenhis or her child is in the infant stage (i.e., below six months of age).To accommodate the rearward-facing safety chair, the parent may solelylay the lower protective member on the seat's seating portion such thatthe rearward-facing safety chair can be accommodated thereuponsubstantially within its formed ridge-like configuration. In thisrespect, the risk of permanent compression damage to the seating portionis significantly mitigated as the force generated by the chair's weightis more uniformly distributed by the lower protective member. Of course,any spillage originating from the safety chair will be contained withinthe vertical barrier formed by the lower member's ridge configuration.

When the infant matures in age and weight (i.e., six months up to eightyears or eighty pounds in weight), the child safety chair must be turnedaround so that it now faces the front of the vehicle. In order tofurther prevent the weight of the forward-facing chair from beingdirectly applied to the seat's seat-back portion, the upper protectivemember is disposed therebetween. More particularly, the upper member'shook strip can be abutted to the lower member's loop strip forreleasible attachment between the upper and lower protective members. Bydoing so, further weight applied to the seat-back portion by theforward-facing chair is sufficiently distributed by the upper protectivemember so as to protect against permanent compression damage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These as well as other features of the present invention will becomemore apparent upon reference to the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a two-stage seat cover constructed inaccordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention disposedupon a vehicular seat;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a lower protective member of the seatcover shown in FIG. 1 and illustrating its placement on the seat'sseating portion to accommodate a rearward-facing child safety chairthereupon;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the seat cover of FIG. 1 formed byattaching an upper protective member to the lower protective member ofFIG. 2 and illustrating a forward-facing child safety chair which isaccommodated thereupon; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the seat cover of FIG. 1 andillustrating its hook and loop strips for releasibly attaching the lowerand upper protective members together and attaching an optional storagepocket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings wherein the showings are for purposes ofillustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention only, andnot for purposes of limiting the same, FIG. 1 perspectively illustratesa two-stage seat cover 10 constructed in accordance with a preferredembodiment of the present invention. As indicated above, the presentseat cover 10 can easily alternate between one-piece and two-piececonfigurations for accommodating both rear and forward facing childsafety chairs 12, 14. As will be come more apparent infra, this abilityto transition between such configurations helps prevent a vehicular seat16 such as a car seat from being damaged by accidental soiling orpermanent compressions caused by the weight-bearing child safety chairs12, 14. It is recognized herein that the present seat cover 10 may beutilized with other types of seats other than vehicular seats 16.

Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 4, the seat cover 10 of thepresent invention is comprised of a lower protective member 18 and anupper protective member 20. Although those figures specifically show thelower and upper protective members 18, 20 as being generallyrectangular, it will be recognized by one of ordinary skill in the artthat any shapes, configurations, sizes and/or geometries that cansubstantially accommodate the safety chair 12 or 14 thereupon arecontemplated herein. Additionally, the lower and upper protective member18, 20 may provide a variety forms of textures. However, it is preferredthat the lower and upper protective members 18, 20 are each fabricatedfrom a rigid or semi-rigid material that additionally possesses tactilefrictionally grip properties, and/or provides at least some degree ofcushioning to, the child safety chair 12 or 14. An exemplary materialfor this purpose is a polymer, foamed polymer and/or foam rubber, butother foamed polymer and/or materials are expressly contemplated herein.Optionally, a washable protective cover 22 such as the one made of anylon fabric may encapsulate the lower and upper protective members 18,20 so as to protect their materials from being soiled by a spillage forexample.

Referring now to FIG. 2 only, the lower protective member 18 is adaptedto be disposed upon a seating portion 24 of the vehicular seat 16. Thelower protective member 18 accommodates a rearward-facing safety chair12 by itself as it is only the chair's base section 26 which contactsand thus applies weight to the seating portion 24. By being placedbetween the safety chair 12 and the seating portion 24, the lowerprotective member 18 operates to more uniformly distribute the chairweight and infant weight across the surface area of the seating portion24. Hence, the risk of permanent compression damage to the seatingportion 24 is significantly mitigated.

The lower protective member 18 preferably includes a lower peripheraledge 28 which defines the outer boundaries thereof. The lower peripheraledge 28 is generally formed by a lower forward edge 30 (disposed awayfrom the upper protective member 20), a lower rear edge 32 (disposedtoward the upper member 20) and two lower side edges 34 interconnectingthem. Although not mandatory, the lower peripheral edge 28 forms aridge-like configuration 36 substantially therearound (i.e. except itslower forward edge 30). However, an alternate configuration forms theridge 36 around the entirety of the lower peripheral edge 28.

The ridge 36 may be integrally having various heights with the lowerprotective member 18. Alternatively, an elongate strip 38 may beselectively extended around the lower peripheral edge 28 to form thedesired ridge 36. In this latter embodiment, such strip 38 is preferablyconstructed from a rigid or semi-rigid material (e.g., polymer onrubber) so that the configuration of a ridge 36 can be sustainedirrespective of various pressures impacting the same. By providing thisridge 36, any spills such as spilled drinks or diaper leaks originatingfrom the child safety chair 12 or 14 can be contained within theboundary set thereby to prevent them from flowing out and soiling anypart of the seat 16 and/or vehicular interior.

Optionally, the lower protective member 18 may have at least one storagepocket 40 which may be extended from its lower forward edge 30. Thepocket(s) 40 may be any type of pocket which can adequately hold variousitems (e.g., baby bottles, toys, etc.) therein. One example of suchpocket may be a mesh pocket which defines from one to any number ofsufficiently deepened pouches. The pocket(s) 40 may be remarkablymounted to the lower forward edge 30 in any conventional manner such asusing hook-and-loop or fasteners and/or snaps or zippers. Furthermore,the lower protective member 18 may optionally include at least onefolding line 42 which extends between the two lower side edges 34. Thisfolding line(s) 42 allows the lower protective member 18 to be folded soas to facilitate carrying thereof when it is not in use and furtherbetter accommodate any curvature the seat portion 24.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the upper protective member 20 isconfigured to be disposed against a seat-back portion 44 of thevehicular seat 16. The upper protective member 20 is used in combinationwith the lower protective member 18 so that a forward-facing childsafety chair 14 can be accommodated collectively thereby. The upperprotective member 20 is adapted to be generally contiguous with thesurface of the seat-back portion 44. In this regard, when the childsafety chair 14 is placed in the forward-face direction, the chair's topsection 46 further contacts and thus applies its weight thereto inaddition to the chair's base section 26 applying weight to the seatingportion 24.

It is preferred that the upper protective member 20 can be selectivelyattachable with and detachable from the lower protective member 18. Byproviding the upper protective member 20 when desired, the compressiveforce generated by the weight of the forward-facing chair 14 may be moreuniformly distributed upon the entire surface area of the seat portion44 so as to lessen the continuous impact of the chair 14 at theseat-back portion 44. Therefore, the seat-back portion 44 of thevehicular seat 16, as well as its seating portion 24, can be adequatelyprotected from becoming permanently deformed by the continuous weightrespectively imposed by the top and base sections 46, 26 of theforward-facing child safety chair 14.

The upper protective member 20 has an upper peripheral edge 48 definingthe outer boundaries thereof. The upper peripheral edge 48 ischaracterized by an upper top edge 50 (disposed away from the lowerprotective member 18), an upper bottom edge 52 (disposed toward thelower protective member 18) and two upper side edges 54 interconnectingthem. The upper protective member 20 may optionally have at least onefolding line 56 that can extend between the two upper side edges 54which allows it to similarly be folded for ease of carrying and conformto the curvature of the seat portion 44. Further optional is a trimming58 which may be extended between the upper side edges 54 through theupper top edge 50. Although this trimming 58 may be any type or form, itis preferably a nylon fabric trimming. Moreover, a person of ordinaryskill in the art will recognize that a variety of indicia such ascompany names, designs or logos may be inscribed within the upperperipheral edge 48.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the upper and lower protective members can bereleasibly attached to each other by preferably employing thehook-and-loop strips (commonly called the Velcro) formed therebetween.However, one of ordinary skill in the art will realize that suchreleasible attachment may be accomplished via other known conventionalmethods (e.g., releasible pins, buttons, etc.). In particular, a hookstrip 60 is formed adjacent the upper bottom edge 52 of the upperprotective member 20. A loop strip 62 is formed adjacent the lower rearedge 32 of the lower protective member 18. It is easily contemplated,however, that the positioning of the hook and loop strips 60, 62 bereversed such that the hook strip 60 is formed adjacent the lower rearedge 32 and the loop strip 62 is formed adjacent the upper bottom edge52. By utilizing this hook-and-loop arrangement, the upper protectivemember 20 can easily and conveniently be attached and detached withrespect to the lower protective member 18.

In operation, the present two-stage seat cover 10 is used according to achild's growth progression and accommodates a child safety chair 12, 14upon a vehicular seat 16 without inflicting any damage thereto.Typically, a parent positions the safety chair 12 in a rearward-facingdirection when his or her child is in the infant stage (i.e., below sixmonths of age). In this scenario, the lower protective member 18 is usedwithout the upper protective member 20 and is placed upon the seatingportion 24. The rearward-facing child safety chair 12 may then be setupon the lower protective member 18 substantially within its formedridge-like configuration 36. By doing so, the risk of permanentcompression damage to the seating portion 24 is significantly reduced asthe force generated by the chair's weight is more uniformly distributedby (i.e. disbursed) the lower protective member 18. Of course, anyspillage (i.e., spilled drinks, diaper leakage) coming from the childsafety chair 12 or 14 will be contained within ridge 36 as it forms avertical substantially around the lower peripheral edge 28.

As the infant matures in age and weight (i.e., six months up to eightyears or eighty pounds in weight), the child safety chair 14 must beturned around so that it now faces the front of the vehicle. The upperprotective member 20 is placed between the chair's top section 46 andthe seat-back portion 44 to alleviate the weight of the forward-facingchair 14 from being directly applied to the seat-back portion 44. Toaccomplish such end, the upper member's hook strip 60 is releasiblyattached to the lower member's loop strip 62. In this respect, weightapplied to the seat-back portion 44 by the forward-facing chair 14 canbe sufficiently distributed by the upper protective member 20 in orderto protect against permanent compression damages. The upper protectivemember 20 is easily detachable for adaptation toward the rearward-facingchair 12 so that the present seat cover 10 can be reused for otherinfants (e.g., younger siblings).

Additional modifications and improvements of the present invention mayalso be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Thus, theparticular combination of parts described and illustrated herein isintended to represent only certain embodiments of the present invention,and is not intended to serve as limitations of alternative deviceswithin the spirit and scope of the invention.

1. A method of reducing and uniformly distributing compressive forces onan automobile seat resulting from the presence of a child safety seatsituated thereon, the method comprising: positioning a lower protectivemember on a seat bottom section of an automobile seat, the lowerprotective member comprising a lower cushioned portion and beingconfigured to generally conform to the shape of an adjacent surface ofan automobile seat; and wherein the lower protective member isconfigured to be positioned on an automobile seat when a child safetyseat has a rear-facing or a forward-facing orientation; positioning anupper protective member on a seat back section of an automobile seat,the upper protective member comprising an upper cushioned portion andbeing configured to generally conform to the shape of an adjacentsurface of an automobile seat; wherein the upper protective member isseparable from and non-integral with the lower protective member and isconfigured to be positioned on an automobile seat when a child safetyseat has a forward-facing orientation; wherein the upper protectivemember remains generally vertically against a seat back section of anautomobile seat when no child safety seat is situated thereon; whereinthe upper protective member is configured to be selectively positionedadjacent to the lower protective member; and selectively removing theupper protective member, leaving only the lower protective member on aseat bottom section when a rear-facing child safety seat is positionedon the lower protective member.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theupper protective member comprises an upper end, the upper end extendingto a height along a seat back section so as to prevent any contactbetween the seat back section and a forward-facing child safety.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein at least one of the lower protective memberand the upper protective member comprises a rigid or semi-rigidmaterial.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the lower protective membercomprises a tactile material configured to provide frictional resistancebetween the lower protective member and an adjacent surface of a childsafety seat.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the lowerprotective member and the upper protective member comprises at least onefolding line configured to permit the lower protective member or theupper protective member to generally conform to the shape of an adjacentsurface of an automobile seat.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein atleast one of the lower protective member and the upper protective membercomprises a protective covering material.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein the protective covering material comprises nylon fabric.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the lower protective member comprises aperipheral edge for spill containment.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe lower protective member comprises a pocket, the pocket configured tohold at least one item.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprisingthe step of attaching the lower protective member to the upperprotective member.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the lowerprotective member is configured to contact the lower protective memberwhen a child safety seat is portioned on the seat cover in aforward-facing orientation.
 12. A method of reducing compressive forceson an automobile seat resulting from the presence of a child safety seatpositioned thereon, the method comprising: providing a lower protectivemember of a seat cover upon a seat bottom section of an automobile seat,the lower protective member comprising a lower cushioned portion andbeing configured to be situated between a child safety seat and a seatbottom section of an automobile seat when a child safety seat is placedon the lower protective member in a rear-facing orientation; positioningthe lower protective member on a seat bottom section of an automobileseat; placing a child safety seat at least partially against the lowerprotective member of the seat cover in a rear-facing orientation;compressively securing a child safety seat onto the lower protectivemember; distributing the compressive forces substantially uniformly upona seat bottom section of an automobile seat; providing an upperprotective member of the seat cover upon an seat back section of anautomobile seat, the upper protective member comprising an uppercushioned portion and being configured to be situated between a childsafety seat and a seat back section of an automobile seat when a childsafety seat is placed on the upper protective member in a forward-facingorientation; positioning the upper protective member on a seat backsection of an automobile seat; and placing a child safety seat at leastpartially against the upper protective member of the seat cover in aforward-facing orientation.
 13. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising selectively removing the upper protective member, leavingonly the lower protective member on a seat bottom section when arear-facing child safety seat is positioned on the lower protectivemember.
 14. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the lowerprotective member and the upper protective member comprises a rigid orsemi-rigid material.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein the lowerprotective member comprises a tactile material configured to providefrictional resistance between the lower protective member and anadjacent surface of a child safety seat.
 16. The method of claim 12,wherein at least one of the lower protective member and the upperprotective member comprises at least one folding line configured topermit the lower protective member or the upper protective member togenerally conform to the shape of an adjacent surface of an automobileseat.
 17. The method of claim 12, wherein at least one of the lowerprotective member and the upper protective member comprises a protectivecovering material.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein the protectivecovering material comprises nylon fabric.
 19. The method of claim 12,wherein the lower protective member comprises a peripheral edge forspill containment.
 20. A method of reducing compressive forces on anautomobile seat resulting from the presence of a child safety seatsituated thereon, the method comprising: positioning a lower protectivemember on a seat bottom section of an automobile seat, the lowerprotective member comprising a lower cushioned portion and a tactilematerial configured to provide frictional resistance between the lowerprotective member and an adjacent surface of a child safety seat; andpositioning an upper protective member on a seat back section of anautomobile seat, the upper protective member comprising an uppercushioned portion and a tactile material configured to providefrictional resistance between the upper protective member and anadjacent surface of a child safety seat; wherein the upper protectivemember is configured to be selectively positioned adjacent to the lowerprotective portion; wherein the lower protective member is configured tobe positioned on an automobile seat when a child safety seat has arear-facing or a forward-facing orientation; wherein the upperprotective member is configured to be positioned on an automobile seatwhen a child safety seat has a forward-facing orientation; removing theupper protective member for storage when a child safety seat has arear-facing orientation; and repositioning the upper protective memberwhen a child safety seat has a forward-facing orientation.
 21. Themethod of claim 20, wherein at least one of the lower protective memberand the upper protective member comprises at least one folding lineconfigured to permit the lower protective member or the upper protectivemember to generally conform to the shape of an adjacent surface of anautomobile seat.
 22. The method of claim 20, wherein at least one of thelower protective member and the upper protective member comprises arigid or semi-rigid material.